Over a period of one year, two PUMA suppliers in El Salvador will be monitored particularly for the following topics: non-discrimination of women, freedom of association including the right to collective bargaining, and correct overtime and wage accounting. The codes of conduct from CCC and PUMA will act as guidelines in this process. In addition to unannounced factory visits, PUMA and CCC will also facilitate workshops and training for workers in order to more effectively include the employees in the social compliance process. PUMA and CCC will be supported by the independent local organisation “Grupo de Monitoreo Independiente de El Salvador” (GMIES) that enjoys great confidence among employees in El Salvador. GMIES will manage worker training together with the women’s organisation ORMUSA.

“We are looking forward to this new form of cooperation with Clean Clothes Campaign and we will use the gained experience for the further development of our social standards. This project shows that our way of constructive dialogue has lead to increased confidence in cooperating with NGOs. The cooperation with CCC will further contribute to more transparency and social accountability among our supply base.” says Martin Gaensler, Vice Chairman of the Board of Management at PUMA.

“For the Clean Clothes Campaign this cooperation is a challenging and innovative step at the same time. This project with PUMA puts workers and organizations of civil society in the centre. Based on two factories in El Salvador, the CCC hopes to achieve an examination, analysis and improvement of PUMA’s monitoring system, especially relating to gender-issues, as well as jointly working on questions of freedom of association and working hours.” says Maik Pflaum of the CCC.